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Pokemon Black

HAPPY NEW YEAR! ..I know I am a little late, but after all the celebrity deaths in 2016, I think it is safe to say we survived. I want to start this post by saying that I sincerely hope that 2017 is a hell of a lot better than last year, and that I am sorry if I seem M.I.A. again. With my job/work picking up speed [I have been working almost six days a week, as opposed to my regular three] and my application status being approved next month; I have been extremely busy. Even yesterday, I planned on writing this post but didn’t because Steph has school/work almost every day and it was [a rare] one day off that we chose to spend together. HOWEVER, I am not here to make long winded apologies, I am here to write about something I have been wanting to write about for a while; and now I have a reason to because today’s Horror Gaming segment involves….Pokemon?

Before Christmas, Nintendo released two new Pokemon games in their 20+ year old franchise: Sun and Moon. I grew up playing the original two games [Red and Blue] so naturally, they hold a very special place in my heart. was excited for these two new games, and I, if you know me personally, naturally picked up Pokemon Moon. [I have always been a fan of the fire and dark types!] I do not play video games as much anymore, but when I do, it’s Pokemon Moon. It may handhold the player, and be somewhat simple for veteran Pokemon players, but it is one of [if not] my favorite in the franchise yet! But did you know there was a bootleg Pokemon game called Pokemon Creepy Black – and that it supposedly turned the player into a killer? Today we are talking about the infamous Bootleg cartridge known as: Pokemon Creepy Black Version.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: this game is part of a CREEPYPASTA, meaning it may or may not be based on actual events. Many CREEPYPASTAs are fake.

When the game starts up, it begins the same way as Pokemon Red and Blue – being a bootleg version of those games – giving the player the same step by step intro of Professor Oak outlining the basics of the game. When the game allows you to choose your starter Pokemon, things feel…different. Where Red and Blue gives the player a choice between three different starters – Squirtle, Charmanderor Bulbasaur – Pokemon Creepy Black offers up a fourth: the original three with an additional character referred to only as GHOST. Those who have played Red and Blue will recognize GHOST as one of the spirits from Lavender Town who haunt the Pokemon Tower until revealed by the Silph Scope. If the player chooses GHOST, they will find that the “Pokemon” will start at level one, when normally, starter Pokemon start at level five. To add to this mystery, GHOST only knows a single move: Curse.

GHOST‘s Curse move is devastating, making battles against weaker Pokemon [like Pidgeyor Weedle] a simple affair for the trainer in control of GHOST. It becomes even easier when you begin to notice that the opposing Pokemon are ‘too scared to move’ in retaliation, and the actual “attack” on the Pokemon is quite the terrifying as well. According to TinyCartridge, this is how a “typical” battle using GHOST would play out:

“When the move ‘Curse‘ was used in battle, the screen would cut to black. The cry of the defending Pokemon would be heard, but it was distorted, played at a much lower pitch than normal. The battle screen would then reappear, and the defending Pokemon would be gone. If used in a battle against a trainer, when the Pokeballs representing their Pokemon would appear in the corner, they would have one fewer Pokeball.”

Once the battling is done and all the Pokeballs have been removed from the party, the player is presented with one final option: you can either ‘Run’ or ‘Curse.’ Choosing Run does exactly what would normally happen in a Pokemon game – allowing the player to leave the battle. However, if Curse is chosen, it erasesthe opposing trainer. Choosing ‘Curse’ makes the screen go black, and when the screen lights up again, the trainer seems to have disappeared; allowing you to continue. But, if you then return to the spot where you first encountered the trainer, He/She will not be there – instead, you will find a tombstone left where they stood, strongly suggesting that you Cursed – or rather – killed the trainer!

With the power you possess, killing countless Pokemon and even more trainers, you can continue to follow the story the creator of this hack and eventually reach – and kill – the Elite Four. [Which is essentially the end of the original Pokemon games] It is only then that the game suddenly takes a turn.

Finishing the Elite Four presents a black screen with a text box saying ‘Many years later…‘ and we cut to Lavender Tower. [Remember, this is where the GHOSTs originally appeared in Pokemon Red and Blue!] We see an old man standing looking at tombstones. For those who have not caught on yet, this man was your character. The old man moves at only half of the game’s normal walking speed, and you no longer have any Pokemon with you – not even GHOST – who this entire time, has been impossible to remove from your party; even through depositing in the PC.

With the game now finished, you can you step back to Pallet Town, which causes the game to become extremely dark and almost cloudy. The usual and expected happy music that plays, slows down to to almost an almost demonic pace and your character stands before the tombstones. If that is not enough for you, the game can go one step further if you stand your character on the exact tile that you began the game on. For a moment, The dark overtone lifts from the screen and is replaced by a constant stream of moving images. These images are implied to be the souls of all the Pokemon and trainers you have killed throughout the game, reinforcing the fact that you and GHOST have killedeveryone..

It is after this revelation that GHOST appears one last time, and it seems that he has turned on his trainer – you. Now, as an old man, the only attack you have is ‘Struggle’ and as you now well know, it does not – and will not – take long for GHOST to wear you down. [you essentially helped give it the strength it now possesses] With your health now gone, GHOST will use one last ‘Curse,’ this time on you, and the screen finally fades to black.. and then the game freezes. The only way to get out of the frozen/blackened screen is to reset the Gameboy/device you are playing on. Once it is successfully rebooted, the entire experience disappears, therefore suggesting that GHOST has killed you too..

Unfortunately, as I stated above, this is a CREEPYPASTA so there is no real way to tell if this game truly existed. Though there are images [as I shared above] these could easily have been manipulated on Photoshop, but that does not stop us from having wishful thoughts. Video games are a way of escaping the real world, including our real world fears. GHOST seems to be an extremely powerful Pokemon, if you can call it that, so be careful who You choose when starting a new Pokemon game!

What did You think of Pokemon Creepy Black? Had You heard of it before? Would You play the game? Let me know in a comment or two! Be sure to alsofollow meover on my Facebook page! [we’re at over 180+ likes – let’s get to 200!] By clicking that “like” button, you’ll see everypost from warrenisweird the verymoment it’s been “gone live” online; and I alsoshare links to articles and pictures/videos that will not be featured here on the blog. So go followover there too! Every “like” helps me a ton, giving me the ability to write more posts for you to read, so be sure to tell the horror enthusiast in your life to do the same, and share The Facebook Page with your family and friends!

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